Also taking place on Sunday at Hartlepool Snooker Centre are the regional qualifiers for the English Under 16 Billiards Championships.

A total of 35 entries have been received from Teesside, including winner for the previous two seasons, Darren Cook.

Twelve players will qualify to the last 16 nationally.

A day earlier, at Coalville in Leicester, Cook, and several other players from the Hartlepool Junior Coaching Academy, will be in action in the first of a the new series of National Under 16 snooker ranking events.

Cook, Ryan Clark and Jonathan Buglass all qualified for the grand finals last season, and will be looking to improve on their final rankings this time around.

Redcar pro Mike Dunn also finds himself in action this weekend, in the qualifying rounds of the 2007 Welsh Open at Pontins, Prestatyn.

Dunn enters the event in round two, where he plays the winner of Mark Joyce or Mohammed Shehab, with a possible clash against Stoke's 'Shotgun' Jamie Cope in round three should he be victorious.